This invention relate to firefighting equipment and, more particularly, to an apparatus and process for removing smoke from burning buildings.
Fires in burning buildings emit enormous amounts of smoke. Smoke from billowing flames and the combustion of household, school and office furnishings, such as wooden desks, tables, drapes, upholstery, synthetic backed carpeting, rubber coated electrical wires, wallpaper, polyvinyl chloride and other plastics, latex paint, and oil based paint emit noxious soot-laden toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, nitrogen, and ammonia.
Such smoke can be hazardous, injurous to the health and safety of the building's occupants and firefighting personnel. Smoke can quickly blanket areas surrounding the fire and asphyxiate its occupants and firefighting personnel. Many government reports indicate that many victims of fire die from smoke asphyxiation rather than from the heat or flames of the fire.
Clouds and heavy concentrations of smoke can impair the vision of firemen and impede their progress in extinguishing the fire. Furthermore, smoke often causes substantial property damage to clothing, drapes, upholstery, carpeting, wallpaper, and other furnishings in buildings.
Over the years various types of equipment have been suggested for extinguishing fires and removing smoke. Fans have been suggested for removing smoke, but they are usually unreliable, cumbersome and awkward. Fans often fail because their electric motor and wires are melted from the heat generated by the flames. Fans are also difficult to mount near a window of a burning building. Pistol grip, hand-held fog nozzles have been used by firemen inside burning building but smoke, gas and heat often impair the fireman's abilaty to efficiently use the nozzles.
Typifying some of the prior art firefighting equipment and other types of devices are those shown in U.S Pat. Nos. 2,017,369; 3,888,535; 4,319,851; and 4,502,806. Such prior art fire fighting equipment and other devices have met with varying degrees of success.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved apparatus and process for removing smoke from a burning building.